AKG Thermotechnik fires union leaders in Turkey - By staff, IndustriALL, June 15, 2017 - Workers responded to the dismissal of union leaders by staying in the factory. Management called the police, who evicted the workers. A total of 25 workers have now been dismissed. The workers are maintaining a picket outside the plant.

Beyond the War on Coal - By Katie O'Reilly, Sierra, June 23, 2017 - Economic diversification in coal country is a really important conversation we wanted to address. One of the things that was really important to me was pointing out the fact that there are roughly 51,000 coal miners in the country—more people are employed by Whole Foods.

Closing Navajo Nation’s coal plant is not justice - By Andrew Curley, High Country News, June 28, 2017 - When Indian Country’s largest coal-fired power plant shuts down, the Navajo Nation will sacrifice hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in revenues after decades of sacrificing its land, water, air, health and lives to provide energy to the residents of Arizona, California and Nevada.

18 farm workers hospitalized for suspected insecticide exposure - By Sara Rubin, Monterey County Weekly, June 23, 2017 - By 7am, all 18 workers were in the emergency room at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, where medical staff called a "code triage," setting up a command center and a mobile decontamination shower trailer where workers were cleaned.

Germany Shows it’s Worth Fighting for Energy Democracy - By Arne Jungiohann and Craig Morris, Resilience, June 22, 2017 - The second take-away is that the German energy transition is an economic showcase. Renewables create jobs. In 2016, roughly 355,000 people worked in the German renewables sector.

The reactions to President Donald J Trump's reckless and unstrategic decision to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement are numerous and range from condemnation to disdianful. We present an extensive but far from exhaustive collection here:

B.C. contractor exposed to asbestos blows whistle, says government made his life a 'nightmare' - By Tom Sandborn, Vancouver Sun, June 16, 2017 - When general contractor Don Garrett was invited to bid on plumbing work in Agassiz’s Kent Prison in 2008, he had no idea that such routine work would expose him to asbestos and touch off a nine-year battle that would cast him on the national stage as a whistleblower, make it impossible to obtain bonding, and cost him future contracts.

California’s water-stealing Delta Tunnels could be approved in September - By Dan Bacher, Red, Green, and Blue, June 15, 2017 - The Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) must consider the findings of the official biological opinion during its June 22 meeting, in addition to hearing public outcry from Delta environmental justice communities, farmers, fishermen, and environmental groups, RTD noted.

A Climate Cooling Proposal - By Peter Bane and Susan Butler, Resilience, June 15, 2017 - This is work for hundreds of millions of people presently unemployed, underemployed, or pursuing dangerous and destructive jobs.

Deadly dust in the TTC - By Roger Schmidt, Rank and File, June 13, 2017 - As early as 2004 the TTC has tested and knows full well that the Wilson carhouse has airborne particulate matter tied to the “blowdown” to clean the underside of the revenue cars.

Demand for judicial inquiry into Umerkot sanitation worker’s death - By staff, Pakistan Labour Watch, June 15, 2017 - Rights activists under the aegis of Sindh Human Rights Defenders Network have demanded judicial inquiry into the death of a sanitary worker in Umerkot on June 1 reportedly because of negligence of doctors and failure of municipal committee to provide protective gear to its sanitation staff.

‘Dirty Fashion’ report reveals pollution in big brands’ supply chains - By Natasha Hurley, New Internationalist, June 20, 2017 - The Changing Markets investigation in China focused on factories in the eastern provinces of Hebei, Jianxi and Shandong. The investigation team found air and water pollution, evidence of worker fatalities in the factories, and stories of severe health impacts on residents living in the vicinity of the plants.

Elon Musk Left Worker Safety On Autopilot Too Long - By David Marquet, Forbes, June 4, 2017 - The UAW are using the safety record as part of their campaign to encourage Tesla workers to unionize. The argument is that union factories are safer because union workers can speak up about safety violations without fear of losing their jobs. There maybe something to that.

Baltimore Residents Call for Action on Oil Trains, Commemorate 1-Year Anniversary of Train Derailment - By Kenyetta Whitfield, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, June 14, 2017 - David McClure, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1300, said: “Each day our 2,500 MTA workers transport the people of Baltimore to work, school, the doctor, or wherever they need to go. And our riders’ safety is our number one priority. I repeat, it’s our number one priority. And now it’s time for the City Council to put the safety and health of the people first. It’s time to put a stop these trains from carrying dangerous crude oil and other hazardous cargo travelling through these densely-populated neighborhoods before we have a disaster on our hands.”; [related]: Baltimoreans Call for Action on Oil Trains on Derailment Anniversary - By Taylor Smith-Hams, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, June 14, 2017.

Exposing the injustices that lie beneath the Canadian dinner table - By Tom Sandborn, Vancouver Sun, June 8, 2017 - Clearly, farm work can be dangerous in Canada. The collection of essays gathered by Shirley A. McDonald of University of B.C. Okanagan and Athabasca University’s Bob Barnetson for this book illustrate that many of the deaths and injuries that occur on Canadian farms and in our meat packing plants could be avoided if the workers had a strong union or if safety regulations and inspections in the industry were improved.

Five Indian farmers killed during protest - By news agencies, Al Jazeera, June 6, 2017 - The spokesperson of a farming union said police had fired on the protesters in Mandasur city, marking an escalation of violence as a rural strike demanding debt relief spread.

Honduran Melon Workers Push for Union Rights - By John Walsh, Labor Notes, June 12, 2017 - Seeking to improve their wages and working conditions, melon workers in the politically marginalized southwestern corner of Honduras are fighting to win recognition and a contract for their young union, a local of the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares (STAS, the Union of Agricultural and Related Workers).

Bosses responsible for killing mineworkers should go to jail - By staff, CFMEU, June 2016 - The latest shameful deal was struck on 11 May by the Queensland Government and mining giant Anglo and allowed three mining bosses to walk free after their involvement in the fatality of coal mineworker Ian Downes in December 2014.

Call for Minister Lynham to resign after black lung comments - By Elisa Fernandes, CFMEU, May 2017 - The union’s Mining and Energy Division General Secretary Andrew Vickers said while the report was a huge leap forward in the debate about the best response to this issue, black lung victims had expressed anger and dismay at the response of Minister Anthony Lynham; [related]: Black lung inquiry finds 'catastrophic failure' in public administration in Queensland - By Leonie Mellor, Rachel Riga and staff, ABC (Australia) News, May 28, 2017.

Coal Jobs Return To Wyoming - By Madelyn Beck, Inside Energy, June 5, 2017 - Geno Palazzari, spokesman for the city of Gillette, said mines’ peak employment rates probably aren’t coming back, but people may still stick around, helping the community move forward.

Construction Site: 3 workers die falling from 10th floor - By staff, Daily Star, June 7, 2017 - Lack of safety measures once again led to a tragic accident in the capital's Siddheshwari area, where three construction workers died after they fell from an under-construction building yesterday.

Electric Trains Everywhere: A Solution to Crumbling Roads and Climate Crisis - By Stephen Miller, Yes! Magazine, May 30, 2017 - Solutionary Rail could not move forward without acknowledging this, and at the proposal’s moral center is a commitment to a just transition—a shift to a sustainable economy that addresses the inequities and injustices currently borne by laborers and marginalized people. The rights of workers and Native people had to be part of the equation, Moyer says.

Face to face with the Wendy's bosses - By Pranav Jani, Socialist Worker, June 2, 2017 - As the Alliance for Fair Food (AFF) reported, Benitez and 26 other supporters, including myself, went into the meeting to confront Wendy's corporate leadership about its refusal to join the Fair Food Program (FFP) established by the CIW and allies as a monitoring program to prevent abuse of farmworkers by the fast-food industry.

Fight for 15 confronts McDonald’s stockholders meeting - By Ann Montague, Socialist Action, May 30, 2017 - The marchers connected their struggle with McDonald’s to the struggle for clean air and water. McDonald’s is the largest global buyer of beef, pork, tomatoes, and lettuce. They are responsible for farmworkers’ exposure to toxic chemicals and the environmental impacts of mass agriculture.

“Corporate Free” Richmond Candidates Moving Up - By Steve Early, Beyond Chron, May 23, 2017 - Among them were a few political heavyweights—like Greenpeace, the California Nurses Association, and Clean Water Action. But most endorsers of the rally against corporate pollution of air, water, and politics were local branches of 350.org or the Green Party, anti-fracking groups, and on-line networks like RootsAction or the Courage Campaign.

The Epic Battle Between Big Oil and the People of California - By Dan Bacher, Red, Green, and Blue, May 27, 2017 - Food and Water Watch, the California Nurses Association, Greenpeace, 350.org, Friends of the Earth, Rootskeeper, Center for Biological Diversity, Davis Stand and many other statewide and national environmental and health groups sponsored the rally.

Fiscal Fightback: Trump's Budget Could Ignite Progressive Uprising - By Christopher Cook, Common Dreams, May 27, 2017 - Instead of Trump’s trickle-down tax breaks for the wealthy and big business, the People’s Budget restores modest Clinton-era tax rates on millionaires and billionaires, bringing in job-creation revenue while making the economic playing field at least a bit more level. The People’s Budget expands opportunities, stimulates local economies, and invests in America’s future—roads and bridges, health and education, workers’ wages and safety, and environmental sustainability.

Haitian Garment Workers Go On Strike! - By Winter Jones, Ideas and Action, May 19, 2017 - According to Rapid Response Network, Haitian workers are often paid below the minimum legal wage and are given ridiculous production quotas. Union members are harassed and fired arbitrarily, despite union activities being legally protected under Haitian law.

Indian coal unions plan nationwide strike - By staff, IndustriALL, May 12, 2017 - Around half a million coal workers in India are set to hold a three-day nationwide strike from 19 to 21 June, 2017 over pensions and wages.

Anjin employees still waiting for termination benefits - By Valentina Ruiz Leotaud, Mining.Com, May 22, 2017 - A report published today by Zimbabwean newspaper News Day reveals that 127 former Anjin Investments employees owed some $407,442 in termination benefits won’t receive payments anytime soon. According to the paper, their application was removed from the roll at the High Court pending Anjin’s Constitutional Court challenge against the State.

Asbestos Blocked for 6th Time from Hazardous Substances List - By Matt Mauney, Abestos.Com, May 17, 2017 - “Failure to list chrysotile asbestos on Annex III once again is an absolute disgrace,” Andrew Dettmer, the national president of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) said. “While they dither, a quarter of a million people will die from asbestos-related diseases.”

China Shows Why Renewable Energy Is The Future, Not Coal - By Steve Hanley, Clean Technica, May 22, 2017 - With his typical penchant for substituting personal opinions for facts, Trump trumpets that more coal, not renewable energy, equals more jobs. China’s experience gives the lie to that narrative. The Shanghai Waigaoqiao No. 3 power station has two 1,000 megawatt ultra- supercritical units. 250 employees operate both.

CLC must strengthen and grow, says re-elected president Hassan Yussuff - By Meagan Gillmore, Rabble.Ca, May 23, 2017 - The convention was organized around four main themes: fairness, equity, green jobs and organizing to strengthen the union movement. But focus is required. "If we're going to take something on, we have to be successful at it instead of just making a loud noise and then moving on to something else," he said.

Delegates: Renationalise railways to save service - By Steve Sweeney, People's Daily Morning Star, May 20, 2017 - DELEGATES to the TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference called on commuters yesterday to rally behind the party which will renationalise the railways and keep safety-critical train guards.

Despite what the Trump administration says, coal is out - By Bill Corcoran, High Country News, May 24, 2017 - Even states that have relatively low clean- energy goals are seeing major economic benefits. According to the Department of Energy, nearly 38,000 Utahns work in solar, wind, smart grid and battery storage. Even though the clean-energy industry is relatively young, it is growing faster than any other energy source and employs more people than coal, oil or gas.

Don Blankenship, Fresh Out of Prison, Begs Trump to Have Mercy on Coal Execs - By Ben Jervey, DeSmog Blog, May 19, 2017 - Don Blankenship, who just wrapped up a year in federal prison for criminal conspiracy to violate mine safety and health rules — a coordinated and concealed series of violations that lasted for at least 15 months leading up to the tragic Upper Big Branch mine explosion that killed 29 coal workers — emerged from his incarceration unrepentant, and none the humbler.

Hanford is Ripe for a Radioactive Explosion - By Joshua Frank, CounterPunch, May 18, 2017 - How surprising was the accident, which forced thousands of workers to find safety? Not very, according to a report uncovered by the Seattle-based advocacy group Hanford Challenge.

Is Media Being Suckered By United Auto Workers Union As Tesla Claims? - By James Ayre, Clean Technica, May 21, 2017 - (I)f the UAW became concerned about worker issues before 2017, which seems to be the case, it stands to reason that it might have spent months planning ways to put pressure on Tesla — all while Tesla was seemingly improving workplace conditions and employee hours on its own.

Jobs? Investing in renewables beats fossil fuels - By Allan Hoffman, Energy Post, May 19, 2017 - Solar and wind are no longer niche businesses, their widespread use addresses global warming and climate change, and their manufacture and deployment are powerful engines of economic growth and job creation.

Book Review: How Electrical Workers Powered Up Their Union - By Eve Ottenberg, Labor Notes, May 12, 2017 - The enemy is strong. But Union Power shows what ordinary people can do to try to better their circumstances, and how we should regard the anti- union ideology that saturates our culture.

The Coming Crisis for the World’s Farmers - By Jill Richardson, CounterPunch, May 12, 2017 - The points he made were common sense: The majority of the world’s poor in the Global South are farmers, and the changing climate is already making it harder for them to produce the food they need. If nothing changes, the refugees already pouring into Europe will just be the warm-up act for the flood that will come later.

Construction Companies’ Owner Is Charged in Laborer’s Death - By Alan Feuer, New York Times, May 10, 2017 - The owner of two Brooklyn construction companies was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday because the authorities said he ignored complaints about a poorly maintained retaining wall that collapsed at a work site in 2015, killing an 18-year-old laborer and injuring two others.

Eskom says plan to mothball power plants only a 'scenario' - By staff, Reuters, May 5, 2017 - South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and other unions have threatened strike action over the proposals, which would threaten thousands of jobs in the coal-producing eastern province of Mpumalanga.

Final action-packed weekend of Global Divestment Mobilisation - By staff, Fossil Free, May 13, 2017 - In England, Town Halls will be pressured to divest Local Government Pension Funds, with events including a giant map linking climate impacts to families in Birmingham, a ‘Renewables Ark’ in Bradford highlighting local flood risk and a series of 14 rolling rallies across London’s Town Halls to take on a fossil fuel monster.

As Food and Farmworkers Retreat, Guestworker Program Poised to Grow - By Christina Cooke, CivilEats, April 11, 2017 - The American food system relies heavily on the work of people born outside U.S. borders, many of whom are undocumented—and living on edge. In fact, 73 percent of the 2.5 million farmworkers planting, cultivating, and harvesting our crops each season are foreign-born, mostly in Mexico. And between 30 percent and 70 percent are undocumented, according to various sources.

Göttingen withdraws funds from coal, oil and gas companies - By staff, Fossil Free, May 13, 2017 - Göttingen has decided to divest from all investments in the fossil fuel sector because of the industries continued pursuit of climate-wrecking business activities. A meeting of the city council’s finance committee today approved a motion that had been submitted last week.

After a series of court wins, the question remains: Can Trump bring back coal? - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, May 8, 2017 - Plausible ranges for domestic coal mining employment range from 70,000 to 90,000 in 2020, and 64,000 to 94,000 in 2025 and 2030, "lower than anything the US experienced before 2015," researchers concluded. "President Trump’s efforts to roll back environmental regulations will not materially improve economic conditions in America’s coal communities."

Coal Jobs Prove Lucrative, but Not for Those in the Mines - By Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times, May 2, 2017 - Though employment in coal mining has been growing since the fall after a long period of decline, the numbers have been minuscule — a net increase of 100 jobs in the latest jobs report for March. Since September, overall employment has increased by 1,700 to just over 50,000 workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the work is a far cry from the stable, well-paying union jobs that were once the industry’s norm.

Exploitation and Abuse at the Chicken Plant - By Michael Grabell, New Yorker, May 8, 2017 - Case Farms plants are among the most dangerous workplaces in America. In 2015 alone, federal workplace-safety inspectors fined the company nearly two million dollars, and in the past seven years it has been cited for two hundred and forty violations.

5 of the Fastest Growing Jobs in Clean Energy - By Daron Christopher, Renewable Energy World, May 10, 2017 - A recent U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report on jobs and the economy found that 6.4 million Americans work in the energy sector, with 300,000 jobs added last year. A huge percentage of these new jobs are in renewable energy and efficiency.

Four reasons why NUMSA rejects Cyril Ramaphosa’s un-apology for Marikana - By Irvin Jim, NUMSA, May 9, 2017 - The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, (NUMSA) rejects the un-apology made by the Deputy President of the country and the ANC, Cyril Ramaphosa, regarding his role in the Marikana Massacre. Ramaphosa was the chairperson of Lonmin mines, at the time of the massacre and Deputy president of the country.

From Hero to Villain: Lessons About Energy From ‘The Dark Knight’ - By Matthew Klippenstein, GreenTech Media, May 9, 2017 - In the last few weeks alone, Tesla employees filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, relating to their efforts to form a union. German workers also demanded higher wages.

In the Age of Trump, Can Labor Unite? - By Alexandra Bradbury, In These Times, April 26, 2017 - Besides economics, the trainings deal with racism, the prison system and the history of U.S. social movements, with an emphasis on getting out of “silos” to ally with movements besides labor. Some sessions include community participants, and one goal is to feed new activists into local coalitions like Sustainable Staten Island, which includes unions of nurses and university staff, an immigrant rights group, a peace group and an anti-police brutality group.

Can Coal Make A Comeback? No. No It Can’t - Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, April 28, 2017 - A new report published by Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy has concluded that no amount of regulatory rollbacks and policy decisions made by Donald Trump’s administration will be able to succeed in bringing back coal jobs.

Climate March Draws Thousands of Protesters Alarmed by Trump’s Environmental Agenda - By Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, April 29, 2017 - The marchers in Washington included Hollywood celebrities and stars of the political left like former Vice President Al Gore and the business magnate Richard Branson. The front of their ranks, though, was reserved for ordinary people: the immigrants, indigenous people, laborers, coastal dwellers and children, who organizers say are most vulnerable to the effects of a changing climate.

Feds launch national dialogue on energy future - By Mark Brooks, The Climate Examiner, April 26, 2017 - The overall aim is to develop a comprehensive long-term, multi-generational energy strategy. At the launch, the minister set out four criteria for this new energy system: addressing climate change, keeping energy affordable, providing jobs, and ensuring the international competitiveness of domestic industry.

Fired track workers sue Metro for discrimination, hostile work environment - By Martine Powers, Washington Post, May 2, 2017 - The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, alleges that Metro had no evidence that the workers — two track walkers, two supervisors, and one maintenance manager — committed any wrongdoing. Instead, the workers’ lawyers argue, Metro officials sought to blame rank-and-file workers, who are predominantly black, and protect higher-ranking officials within the agency.

Food Workers Take On Fowl Play at Tyson—And Win Better Conditions - By Bruce Vail, In These Times, April 28, 2017 - A consumer pressure campaign against labor abuses in the chicken-processing industry has produced some initial results, with a detailed pledge this week from Tyson Foods to build a better workplace for its 95,000 employees.

From Peoples Climate March to May Day: Resistance is Here to Stay! - By Thanu Yakupitiyage, 350.org, April 30, 2017 - On May 1st, immigrants and allies all over the country will rise up in resistance to demonstrate the power, resilience and strength of immigrants in America. On May 1st in cities, towns and communities across the country immigrant leaders of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) will Rise Up! in resistance to demonstrate the power, resilience and strength of immigrant communities in America.

Granddaughter of coal breaker becomes local leader against climate change - By Samantha Page, Think Progress, April 29, 2017 - From 2014 to 2015 alone, coal jobs in Pennsylvania dropped 16 percent — and that latest data comes after decades of steadily decreasing employment in coal mining, due in large part to automation, but increasingly because of economic pressure from natural gas and renewable energy.

How environmental NGOs are shifting conversation on climate and energy - By Monica Trauzzi, E&E News, May 1, 2017 - When it comes to solar energy development that's about jobs. When it comes to wind power development that's about jobs. We understand the president's concerns with job creation, but when it comes to clean energy that's where the new jobs are being created. Again, politicians on both sides of the aisle understand that, as does the public.

Last ride for the West’s iconic trains? - By Forrest Whitman, High Country News, May 2, 2017 - Elaine Chao, our new secretary of Transportation, is cutting the California high-speed rail initiative. That kills 9,600 good jobs.

Longview coal terminal is a road to nowhere - By Clark Williams-Derry, Seattle Times, April 26, 2017 - The reality is that the economic prospects for West Coast coal exports have collapsed. China’s demand for coal, which once seemed limitless, has been falling for three consecutive years.

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